Social Sciences

2015; 4(2): 23-26

Published online March 3, 2015 (http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ss)
doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20150402.11
ISSN: 2326-9863 (Print); ISSN: 2326-988X (Online)

Cultural Identity in Intercultural Communication

Yabo Li
Western Languages School of Harbin Normal University, Harbin Normal University, Harbin, China

Email address:
liyabohsd@sina.com

To cite this article:

Yabo Li. Cultural Identity in Intercultural Communication. Social Sciences. Vol. 4, No. 2, 2015, pp. 23-26. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20150402.11

Abstract: Culture is a nation's deepest historical accumulation and a country's most distinctive spiritual banner. Overall
cultural strength and competitiveness of the country, an important symbol of national rejuvenation, is an important part of overall
national strength. Through two-thousand-year history of East-West exchanges between various cultures, various ideological
beliefs intertwined, and various ideological trends were agitated. China is able to really improve and stengthen the cultural soft
power only by good solutions to the problem of cultural identity in global communication and the firm establishment of core
values.

Keywords: Cross-Cultural Communication, Cultural Identity, Core Values

individual in the social life belonging to a group different from

1. Introduction
Culture always play an important role in a country’s full
development process. It is a nation's deepest historical
accumulation and a country's most distinctive spiritual banner.
Especially after three decades’ fast econimic development in
China, the development of cultural soft power is getting more
and more urgent. From APEC summit in Beijing in 2014, we
can find Chinese central government not only focus on
economic stretagies, but pay more attention to cultural
stretagies. Overall cultural strength and competitiveness of the
country, an important symbol of national rejuvenation, is an
important part of overall national strength. With the
globalization’s development, the world is geting a “village”.
Villagers and neighbours like to communicate and know each
other through different ways in order to cooperate and help
each other to finish some difficult jobs. Looking back two
-thousand-year history of East-West exchanges between
various cultures, various ideological beliefs intertwined, and
various ideological trends were agitated. Misunderstanding
and prejudice often occur in global times. Only finding good
solutions to the problem of cultural identity in global
communication and establishing nationally cultural core
values, China can really improve and stengthen the cultural
soft power.
2. What is Cultural Identity
"Identity" is one of the basic concepts of social studies. It
generally refers to the subjectivity consciousness of an
other group. It was a philosophical category connecting with a
historic, integrity and identity self-consciousness together. On
psychoanalysis, "identity" refers to personal discovering,
imitating, and taking in the others’ value, norms, and outlook,
then forming their own behavior patterns. Psychologically
speaking, people like to accept certain things means the
appropriate psychological sense of belonging. "Identity" has
two meanings in modern Chinese: First is they have same
bacgrounds and interests and feel intimate; Second is
acception and approval. Identity will greatly influence
people's behavior and guidelines, such as making some
choices, establishing specific relationships with others, and
gaining personal strength and resilience (Peiqun He
&Yinxuan Yu, 2006:45).
"Cultural identity refers to individuals with a common
culture follow a common cultural philosophy, use the same
cultural symbols , and adher to common thought patterns and
behavior norms. Identity is one of the basic functions of the
inherent culture. Having a common culture is the basis for
national identity and social identity. While the personal
identity of the community is mainly in the socialization of the
individual who can learn and accept the culture created and
owned by the society; social identity of the individual is
reflected by the basic social cultural norms’ popularity,
promotion and dissemination among people; cultrual identity
is mainly expressed through the two sides’ same cultural
background, cultural atmosphere, or the culture recognized
and accepted by each other "(Xinjian Cui, 2004:103).
Cultural identity is divided into internal and external
24 Yabo Li: Cultural Identity in Intercultural Communication
dimensions. Internal cultural identity refers to the cultural
identity: by means of a common, glorious history and cultural
origins of the centripetal force, all the members of a nation
gather together against the cultural hegemony, but we do not
oppose the absorption of foreign advanced culture. External
cultural identity is the understanding and acceptance process
of other cultures. With the gradual understanding and
acceptance, we learn to take the initiative to learn from
superior and benefitial part of other cultures, and integrate it
into our own cultural system to improve and perfect our own
culture.
3. Chinese Cultural Identity Performance
in Intercultural Communication
3.1. History of Human Development is also a Conflict,
Friction and Integration Cultural Identity History
Among Different Cultures
3.1.1. The Historical Confidence of Chinese Cultural
Identity
In the history of cross-cultural exchanges with the West
from the middle of the Qin and Han to the Ming Dynasty,
China in all aspects of social development, economy, politics,
science and technology led the world. On the ancient Silk
Road not only business travelers left footprints, but also we
created the brilliant cultural exchanges ; Jianzhen went to
Japan to spread Buddhist sutra ; Zheng He's seven voyages
sent Chinese porcelain; four great inventions entered the West
promoting the European Renaissance. Different civilizations
sought for dialogues and exchanges in this period. With "East
Studies Introduced to the West" during this peoriod, people
had a strong confidence in Chinese cultural identity. Needham
believed that China from the third century to the thirteenth
century had maintained the highest level of science. Chinese
culture was still at the forefront of the world's heads until the
17th century.
3.1.2. The Inferior Performance of Chinese Cultural
Identity in Modern Times
In the 17th and 18th centuries, European and American
countries led by Netherlands gradually embarked on the road
of capitalism. The Industrial Revolution starting from the UK
made machine instead of manual labor, which greatly
improved the efficiency of production and liberated the
productive forces. Second industrial revolution of the 19th
century furtherly promoted the development of productive
forces, so the economic, social and cultural structures of
Western countries have undergone profound changes. From
the late Ming Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, the Western
modernization opened the door of China, from missionary
Matteo Ricci to Xu Guangqi Chinese intellectuals as the
representatives had made an outstanding contribution for the
mutual exchange and dissemination of Chinese and Western
cultures. After the Opium War cross-cultural exchange
became "All Western Learning"--overwhelming trend. The
famous "Westernization Movement" was a good example:
Western powers forced China to open the door for them with
gunboats, so Chinese intellectuals realized that "learning
technology from westerners to challenge and win them." was
urgent. The "cultural revolution" almost made Chinese
traditional values broken, so people after that truly desired to
absorb advanced culture to enrich their lives. At the beginning
of reforming and opening times, long-term detention of the
country’s door once was opened, and Western material culture,
institutional culture and spiritual culture flowed into China
suddenly, so Chinese people felt new and strange, and some
people blindly learned and followed the western culture. With
the profound changes in the economic system, the profound
changes in the social structure, and the profound changes in
ideaology at the same time, some people begin to doubt the
original and traditional culture Value.
3.1.3. The Lost Cultural Identity of Contemporary Chinese
After thirty years’reformation, China has become the
world's second largest economy and made great progress in
social development, and people's living standards have been
greatly improved. However, in globalization and
multi-polarization times, information technology and
networking projects make the culture disseminated and
impacted at unprecedentedly speed. The US-led Western
dominant culture through advanced communication
technologies and means, flow into almost every corner of the
world. Individual heroism, consumer hedonism, money
worship and other ideas continuously influence the traditional
Chinese values. Chinese culture is more and more take in
Western elements : from the KFC, Apple cell phone, and
Hollywood movies to differen groups’ English learning
enthusiasm; from coke, Nike, and English novels to studying
abroad, Western culture has been pervasive and
all-encompassing. At the same time, we are losing the essence
of Chinese traditional culture. Some people even think the
various positive ,successful and profund changes we have
gained should thank to Western culture, and all the ugly
elements should thank to Chinese culture. Therefore some
people form lost and torturing self-identities " (Xingcheng
Zhang, 2011:33). Nowadays many people in conflict between
East and West, traditional and modern, ideal and reality,
individual and society, reason and faith blow hot and cold. Not
only because of the developed countries’influence from
economy, culture and values, more importantly, because of
low self-esteem due to our country’s poverty and
backwardness, Chinese people are not confident, even belittle
ourselves in cross-cultural exchange. Especially when
Chinese culture conflicts with developed culture, Chinese will
lose thrie cultural identityies(Wang Lizhou, 2011:50).
3.2. How to Solve the Issus of Cultural Identity from
Cross-Cultural Exchanges’ Perspective
3.2.1. The Reality of Chinese Cultural Identity Problems
In the context of globalization, the economy is operated as a
cultural industry; culture is as economical one to opoerate, and
the two parts achieved themselves in each other's areas. The
United States as the world's largest economic power in the
 Social Sciences 2015; 4(2): 23-26
world has successfully exported the largest commodity -
“culture” which is American image. China's participation in
globalization is a historical necessity. But China as a good
cultural community and an independent nation-state is also
involved in this process to rebuild Chinese cultural identity, to
reshape the country's image and re-establish the international
status. Therefore, in order to effectively deal with the
challenges of Western culture, enhance national cohesion, and
improve cultural soft power, we must firmly establish the
guiding position of Marxism. With the guiding ideology of
unification to lead diverse culture. Expanding Chinese cultural
identity in different cultures, forming an inclusive and diverse
ideological consensus, and focusing on the effective
combination of traditional culture and modern Western culture,
we try our best to reinforce the nation's cultural identity which
is Chinese core value system: Mao Zedong Thought (i.e.
Marxism with Chinese characteristics) is the soul; Chinese
common ideal is the theme; national spirit and the spirit of the
times is the essence; the concept of honor is the foundation.
Culture is the nation's blood and the core value system is the
core of culture which determines the nature of culture, cultural
stance and cultural choices. It is the rejuvenating soul which
determines the direction of development of whole country ,
and it is our Chinese people's cultural identity foundation. In
the era of globalization, economic factors enter into the culture;
cultural factors enter into the economy. Both of them interact
with each other to finish mutual penetration. “An initial step
towards developing respect for cultural differences is to look
for situations in our own life in which we would behave like
a person from another culture”(Fons Trompenaars & Charles
Hampden-Turner,1998:197). Especially when more and more
Chinese people do business , study, travel, or visit relatives in
different countries all over the world, they like to learn and
accept other cultures, but they meet different kinds of cultural
challenges at the same time. With rapid economic
development, various ideologies and cultures are intertwined,
and international relations are increasingly complicated ,
so"who we are" such cultural identity issue becomes more
important than anytime, which is an important and hot
research topic. Although culture is invisible , its impact is
everywhere; although culture seems weak, it is very strong in
nature. As the wheel of history rolls on, only the culture will
not stop to nourish the soul of this nation in the shape of
material and non-material state and become our
self-identification credentials, so we are able to have
confidence and courage to face the future. Without culture
positive leading, a country’s or a nation’s fast developmemt in
modern times is impossible.
3.2.2. Solutions to the Problem of Cultural Identity
(i) Reshaping People’s Confidence of Chinese Cultural
Identity
Chinese long history and profound culture cultivated a lot
of excellent traditional culture essence. People's cultural
identity can not be separated with historical and cultural
traditions. China's cultural tradition is nurtured in the process
of long-term national development, reflecting the cultural
25
heritage of this country and thought quintessence. Chinese
nation has a long history, so our ancestors have created a
splendid civilization which is our precious spiritual wealth.
We should interpretate Chinese culture into new version
with the requirements of the times to refine, generalize, and
inherit fine traditional culture. For example, the core concept
of Laozi thought - “being natural" is the earliest version of the
current sustainable development concept; "people-oriented"
ruling ideology comes from the core concept of
Confucianism-"Benevolence" ; Shang Yang’s core value is
ruling a country by law and equality before the law. These
traditional ideas still shine sparkling wisdom now. Meanwhile,
Western culture also exposes its limitations and defects. Some
people think that pleasure-style consumerism and greed of
egoism is the cultural factors that led to the financial crisis
since 2008.
(ii) Absorbing the Essence of Foreign Culture
Any outstanding culture should have a double features of
human commonality and their individuality. The outstanding
culture firstly keeps and reflects the unique feature, but this
unique feature should be in the context of human civilization
and keep the consistency with direction of human
civilization’s progress. From a historical perspective of the
development, the spread of Chinese civilization promotes
world civilization’s progress, and similarly, the absorption of
other civilizations also promotes Chinese civilization’s
progress. Being brave to absorb and learn the essence of
foreign culture is a kind of national cultural confidence. We
must accept the fact that the cultural differences from different
ethnic groups, different countries and regions are caused by
differences in living form. Understanding the cultural
diversity, we are not standing on the position of our own
national or cultural values to downgrade different values. We
should focus on the development of the whole human
civilization, absorb common achievements and value
consensus, response human ideals and values, serve the
Chinese civilization, and promote the progress of world
civilization. The course of thirty years of reforming and
opening up is having enough courage to absorb the essence of
foreign culture course. It is this courage and self-confidence
that contributes to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
So, continuing to absorb foreign culture essence will be bound
for further development of the nation.
(iii) Establishment of Core Value System
The Chinese Central Government is advocating being
prosperous, democratic, civilized, and harmonious; initiating
freedom, equality, justice, and ruling by law; promoting
patriotism, dedication, integrity, and kindness; actively
cultivating and practicing the national core values. Cultural
identity ought to have specific cultural connotations, so the
national core value system should be the basis of
contemporary cultural identity. The national core value system
necessarily reflects social form and social nature of a country.
It has dominant position in the system of social ideology,
which determines the basic principles of social operation and
restricts the basic direction of social development. We should
26 Yabo Li: Cultural Identity in Intercultural Communication
extensively promote the education of ideals and beliefs, and
combine personal ideal with common ideal of all Chinese. We
should rich people's spiritual world and enhance People's
spiritual strength. “When core value system of any society is
really deep-rooted into the moral consciousness of the
members of society and internalized into the hearts of the
members of society, and the unity of social value’s
requirements and personal identity value is realized, it can
play the central role and its dominant funtion in society”
( Kailing Tang,2007:(8)23 ). Governments should improve
cultural development and prosperity of the whole society to
form an effective public cultural service system, enriching
means of communication, expanding the spread and influence
of social advanced culture, and transforming national core
value into specific persons and events in reality. Hence people
like to accept it and take it as a guide to action.Thus the social
core value system will really dominate in the whole society. At
the same time we should make full use of the opportunities of
globalization and actively participate world civilization
dialogues to promote Chinese culture to the world. Our goal is
to get more understanding of Chinese culture and identity all
over the world.
4. Conclusion
Chinese civilization has Five thousand years of history, and
we can proudly say that Chinese civilization is the only
civilization which is not broken in the world today. But at the
same time, we worry about China's overall cultural strength
and influence is unequal with China's international status. The
structure of international culture and public opinions that
weatern culture is more powerful and important than Chinese
culture has not been fundamentally reversed. People in many
parts of the world, especially those who have never been to
China, will tend to connect China with poverty, backwardness,
and pollution. We have long attention and protection of
cultural heritage of ethnic minorities. Especially when some
minorities who received higher education strengthen
self-identity constantly, the cohesiveness of the Chinese
national culture is declining. We must promptly alert to seize
the opportunities brought by globalization to fully carry out
various forms of foreign exchanges and actively involve in the
dialogue with world civilization to expand Chinese cultural
influence. Throught our efforts, we must push other countries
to understand, accept, trust, and support Chinese culture
gradually.
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